Pneumatic selecting mechanism for musical instruments.



No, 734,193. Y PATENTBD JULY 21, 1903.

' w. H. BEES. PNEUMATIC SELECTING MECHANISM FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 18. 1902.

UNITED STATES Patented J'uly 21, 1903.

l/VILLIAH H. REES, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

PNEUMATIC SELECTING MECHANISM FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT S.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 734,193, dated July 21, 1903.- I Application filed October 18,1902 Serial No. 127,793. (No model.)

This invention relates to a selecting mech-' anism which has been designed for automat-.

ically producing coupled effects or individual keyboard effects in pneumatically-controlled organs, but which may also be used for other purposes.

The especial object of the present invention is to provide a simple, efficient, durable, and inexpensive construction which may be controlled from a tracker-board to produce two separate and distinct effects, such as the sounding of two separate and distinct notes, or which may be used to produce a coupled effect or the simultaneous sounding of said two notes.

To these ends thisinvention consists of the parts and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of sufficient parts to illustrate the construction of an apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is afragmentary plan view of the tracker-board, and Fig.

3 is a fragmentary detail view showing the manner in which the music-sheet may be perforated to cooperate with an apparatus constructed according to this invention.

In playing the larger organs the most powerful and artistic elfects are produced by the use of the couplers, because the larger organs are necessarily played from a number of keyboards. Usually one keyboard controls the grand organ, producing the heavy tones of the large pipes, while a second keyboard controls the swell-organ, producing lighter tones from smaller pipes. In the manual playing of the larger organs a musician may play the air on the grand organ and an accompaniment upon the swellorgan, or the air may be played on the swell-organ and an accompaniment upon the grand organ, or by the use of a coupling mechanism or special stop two keyboards may be coupled together, so that by playing on one keyboard the same note will be sounded both upon the grand organ and swell-organ. Three distinct effects are thus prod ucedthat is to say, a note may be sounded on the swell-organ alone, it may be sounded on the grand organ alone, or it may be sounded on both organs simultaneously The especial object of the present invention is to provide a selecting mechanism which has been designed to automatically produce any one of these three effects from a tracker-board.

A selecting mechanism constructed according to this invention consists, essentially, of two controlling-chambers with a valve for each controlling-chamber. These valves are connected so that both valves are normally open; but when one valve is thrown open more widely than its normal extent the other valve will be closed. This arrangement is constructed so that simultaneous air impulses may be transmitted through both of the controlling-chambers; but whenever an air impulse is admitted into one controlling-chamber in advance of the other the valve of the second controllingchamber will be closed. In order to keep this valve closed, the valves are controlled by diaphragms which are considerably larger than the areas of the valveseats, so that when an air impulse has been admitted to either controlling-chamber its diaphragm will exert a sufiiciently powerful influence to hold the valve of the other controlling-chamber shut. The diaphragms in the two controlling-chambers are separated by a dead-air space, which may be connected to the atmosphere, as hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a detail description of an apparatus embodying my invention, the drawings show a mechanism which is actuated by pressure.

As illustrated, A designates a pressure-box having a cover B. Within the pressure-box A may be mounted an ordinary music-roll O and winding-r0111) for drawing the musicsheet over the tracker-board T. As shown most clearly in Fig. 2, the tracker-board T is provided with double the ordinary number of openings-that is to say, it is provided with two series of openings, as E and F. One opening E and one opening F correspond with each note which is to be controlled. Each of the openings E is connected through a pipe 10 to a corresponding controlling-chamber 11, and each opening F is connected through a pipe 12 to a corresponding second controlling-chamber 13.

Mounted in the controlling-chambers 11 and 13, respectively, are bell-crank levers 15 and 16, carrying valves for shutting off the openings into these controlling-chambers. The valves when in normal position-are both open, and the bell-crank levers are so connected that when one ofthese valves is opened more widely the valve in the other controlling-chamber will be closed.

Separating the controlling-chambers 11 and 13 is a division-strip 14, which is cut out to provide a dead-air space between the controlling-chambers 11 and 12, with diaphragms 17 and 18 at each side thereof. \Vhen the selecting device is to be operated by pressure, the dead-air space may be connected with the atmosphere through an outlet 19. The areas of the diaphragms 17 and 18 are considerably larger than the areas of contact of the valves,

so that these diaphragms serve to hold one or.

the other of the valves tightly closed. For example, when an air impulse is admitted to the controlling-chamber 11 it will tend to throw down the valve which controls the opening into said chamber, and the pressure on the diaphragm 17will close the controllingvalve of the chamber 13 and will hold the same closed against any air impulse which may thereafter be admitted to the pipe 12.

Leading from the controlling-chamber 11 is a pipe 20, connected to actuate a primary pneumatic 21, which operates valves 22 and 23. In the construction illustrated the valve 22 is normally open and the valve 23 closed. When the pneumatic 21 is inflated, the valve 22 will be closed and the valve 23 will be opened to admit an air impulse to the pipe 24. The pipe 24 is connected to a check-valve box 25, leading from which is a pipe 26, which may be connected to control one note of the grand organ through any of the ordinary pneumatic operating devices. Opening into the check-valve box 25 is a pipe 27, which may be controlled from a key of the keyboard. The pipes 2t and 27 are both controlled by check-valves, so that the same note of the grand organ can be sounded either by hand or from the tracker-board. Leading from the controlling-chamber 13 is a pipe 28, which is connected through a similar train of devices-that is to say, it is connected to operate a primary pneumatic 20 to close a normally open valve 30 and open a valve 31 to admit an air impulse to a pipe 32, which leads to a check-valve box 33, from which checkvalve box 33 leads a pipe 34, which may control the corresponding note on the swellorgan. Opening into the check-valve box 33 is a pipe The pipes 32 and 35 are controlled by check-valves, and the pipe 35 may be connected to permit the note to be sounded it is desired to sound a note corresponding with one of the perforations H on either one of the organs without sounding it on the other,

a leading-notch or small hole 72, is cut in front of a main perforation H, either to the right or to the left, as may be required, so that said small leading-notch or perforation 7?. will admit an impulse of air to one of the controlling devices, so that the valves will be shifted to cut off the other controlling-chamber and prevent the note from being sounded on the other organ. In the operation of the completed apparatus plain perforations Him the music-sheet Will admit simultaneous air impulses to both of the controlling-chambers, producinga coupled or unison effect on both organs, while perforations having a leadingnotch in advance thereof will sound the note on eitherthe grand or swell organ, as desired.

The construction which I have herein illustrated acts under an air-pressure. It is obvious, however, that the same principle may be applied to act by suction to accomplish this result, it being simply necessary to provide suction between the diaphragms 17 and 18.

. I am aware that other changes may be made in practicing my invention by thosewho are skilled in the art and that my construction may be used for ditferent purposes-for eX ample, selecting, coupling, and operating pedals of large organs, &c. I do not wish, therefore, to be limited to the particular c011- struction I have herein shown and described; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two controllingchambers and a valve for each controlling-chamber,said valves being connected so that both valves will be normally open, but when either valve is opened more widely, the other valve will be closed.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two controlling-chambers, and a valve mechanism constructed to permit simultaneous impulses to beadmitted through said controlling-chambers, but which will prevent a succeeding impulse from being transmitted through one of the controlling-chambers while aprevious impulse is acting therein.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two controlling-chambers, a diaphragm in each of said controlling-chambers, and a valve mechanism constructed to permit simultaneous impulses to be admitted through said controlling-chambers, but which will prevent a succeeding impulse from being transmitted through one of the controllingchambers while a previous impulse is acting in the other controlling-chamber.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two controlling-chambers, a shut-ofi' valve for each controlling-chamber, a connection between said valves for causing the same to move simultaneously in opposite directions, and a diaphragm in each controlling-chamber of larger area than the shut-off valve, each of said diaphragms being connected to hold the shut-off valve of the other controlling-chamber closed when an air impulse acts first thereon.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two controlling-chambers, a tracker-board connected to admit air impulses to said controlling-chambers, and a valve mechanism constructed to permit simultaneous air impulses to be transmitted through the controlling-chambers, but which prevents the transmission of an air impulse through one of the controlling chambers whenever a previous impulse is acting in the other controlling-chamber.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two controlling-chambers,

a tracker-board having adjacent channels, one connected to each of said controllingchambers, and a valve mechanism for cutting off one of the controlling-chambers when the other controlling-chamber is first brought into action, whereby one or the other controlling-chamber will act according to which tracker-board channel is first opened, while both controlling-chambers will act when both channels are open simultaneously.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, 7

witnesses.

WILLIAM H. REES. Witnesses:

LOUIS W. SOUTHGATE, PHILIP W. SOUTHGATE. 

